AI think therefore AI am?
Reading this article about em dash made me laugh a bit, but it also made me sad. AI has been around for a while, but in recent years AI generated works has spread in the virtual sphere like wildfire. It's become glaringly obvious — creativity and whimsy are not seen as worth investing in anymore for many people.
As I spotted yet another cringey AI ad today — a premium new car model, with the poster displaying tacky colors/elements and characters with uncanny valley — I can't help but wonder if businesses realise how unrefined their marketing campaigns look when they clearly use AI. The irony is also not lost on me that their intended audience was also probably determined by the algorithm gods powered by AI, but that's another can of worms.
Are businesses boasting about being pro-AI just desperate to join the 21st century digital space race to stay relevant?, or do they genuinely believe AI-generated work are as good as bespoke work by craftmasters with years of experience?
Let me be clear: I'm not against AI, especially when it comes to automation. It can be useful to boost productivity. But seeing more companies desperately re-hire staff after replacing them with AI (e.g. due to "tech debt") makes me wonder the motives and end goal of companies being so proud of using AI (to the point of referring to themselves as "AI-first").
The general belief/assumption that AI is just a financial strategy to cut costs for tasks/roles that can be automated is worth unpacking for many reasons, but I wonder if big corporations bragging about their AI usage as well as their commitment to SDG initiatives seriously consider the social and environmental costs of wide-scale and long-term usage of AI, especially when unregulated.
But... what if the AI boom is not even about cost-saving after all? What if it's due to premature introspection and political motivations mixed with an unhealthy amount of FOMO and selective hearing, making businesses chase after uncertain bandwagons and forget the timeless wisdom of "be careful what you wish for"?
In any case, witnessing less and less appreciation for the time and effort taken to master the skills needed to produce creative work (e.g. text, illustrations, videos, shows) is disheartening, but seeing fellow creatives avoid certain styles/conventions so that they don't look/sound like AI is unsettling. I understand their reasoning and don't fault them for doing this!, I just think it's a great loss to human tradition and creativity.
As AI catches up to human-likeness at an alarming speed, I wonder how far we as a society will go and how long we can individually and collectively evolve to prove our authenticity/legitimacy? Hmm.
So... to AI, or not to AI?
While ChatGPT etc may be able to generate things based on centuries of human-made media and knowledge, nothing beats natural creativity, human ingenuity, and genuine connection. Sure AI tools may be able to create neat tables and charts and spreadsheets to help speed things up in the drafting stage, but at the end of the day, AI cannot — and should not — do your thinking OR feeling for you.
Our brains will turn mush from lack of use and society will be collectively cooked in the near future if we refuse to acknowledge this.